Osseo wrestling standout Brolsma shoots to be two-time state champion

Published January 30, 2014 at 10:12 am

by Bob San

SUN PRESS Newspapers

Carson Brolsma has set a lofty goal for himself. He wants to be a two-time state wrestling champion.

To achieve that goal, the Osseo High junior will have to win the state title this winter. Judging by the way he is wrestling so far, it would be foolish to bet against him.
Osseo junior Carson Brolsma has set his sight on being a two-time state champion.

Brolsma started wrestling in first grade and enjoyed success at every level and made the varsity team in seventh grade. Last season, Brolsma qualified for the state meet and finished fifth He said that strong state showing provides motivation for him to do even better this year.

“It gave me a ton of motivation,” he said. “Even though at the time I was happy because I went into the state tournament being unranked and came out on the podium. I realized I could’ve done a lot better. I carry my fifth-place medal with me whenever I work out or wrestle and use it as motivation. It was a good start to get to my real goal which is a two-time state champion.”

Brolsma is a talented athlete but he continues to push to improve by wrestling year round.

“Everything I do in the offseason revolves around the high school season,” he said. “I wrestle a lot of freestyle and Greco for the Storm national team to improve on my mat awareness and improve on my neutral position because freestyle relies a lot on your feet and takedowns. I also do a lot of cross training to keep me in shape and to stay explosive.”

Brolsma loves wrestling and enjoys learning and getting better so it is difficult for him to take a break from training.

“I try to take a couple weeks off from being on the mat in August but it is always impossible for me to do,” he said. “It’s just whenever I am on a mat wrestling, I feel at home. This year I trained at Pinnacle, which helped me a bunch because they have great coaches and great partners. It helped me a lot also by working with my Pinnacle coach Jared Lawrence on certain positions and executing my shots.”

“Carson trains for wrestling year-round. No one works harder and puts in more time than he does,” Wiley said. “He is always drilling wrestling technique, lifting weights, doing cardio workouts, eating right and getting the proper rest to compete at the highest level he can. Carson pushes his teammates in practice and helps them with technique and overcome the mental obstacles in order to win.”

All the hard work is paying off because Brolsma is enjoying a banner season. He has risen to No. 2 in the state 3A 145-pound class and has a 32-1 record. Brolsma has defeated 13 state-ranked wrestlers this season, with his only loss a three-point decision to top-rated (2A) Zack Siegle of Scott West.

Brolsma has set his goal and he is confident he can achieve it.

“There is no doubt in my mind that I can be a state champion, and that’s what I am planning on doing,” he said. “That’s what I have been working for this whole year, and in the end that is the only thing that matters, I also would like to beat the all-time win record for Osseo wrestling.”

If Brolsma achieves his goal, he will become Osseo’s first state champ in a long, long time. Osseo has had 23 state champions in its history, but it has been 17 years since Kelly McConville won back to back state titles in 1996 and 1997. Prior to that, Ty Friederichs won his fourth straight state title in 1995.

“I like Carson’s chances,” Wiley said. “He has tremendous focus, and at the center of that focus is the ultimate high school goal of becoming a state champion. Last year Carson’s main goal was to make it to the podium. This year he plans to stand at the top of it and he has every reason to believe that.”